The Moon of Sivan (May-June)
Imagine your soul
moving from the blooms of youth
into a new phase of growth
just as Springs abundant waves of blossoming
now slows.
Imagine
your spirit now able to open her arms
with trust and power and grace
while calling upon the name of God
Yedid Nefesh
Beloved of Soul.
Yedid Nefesh,
You for Whom my soul longs,
Beloved One of my spirit,
Come dance with me this moon of Sivan.
Sivan,
time of the first ripe grapes in the Land, time of rising heat,
time when mountains once tumbling with green grasses now lie golden,
dry, dry, dry from the sun.
If I look very closely I can see the shadows on the hillsides
of pilgrims on route to Jerusalem
bearing baskets filled with their first fruits on their shoulders.
If I am very patient, I can see them
streaming across the valleys moving towards the Temple, even now,
if I look closely.
In the moon of Sivan,
fish retreat to deeper waters,
showing me the way to go.
It is time
to go
to my deeper waters.
It is time
to ready
to meet You,
One Whom my heart adores.
You delivered me from oppression,
rescuing me from the whip.
You brought me to a wild place and tended me there soothingly
as the wounded creature I then was,
bringing me food, revealing wells, caring for me,
nursing me back to life.
So in love with me You were,
waiting, waiting patiently
for me to learn of You,
gently, gently in my time.
And now, in this moon of Sivan, time of bringing offerings,
the golds of wheat and the pearls of barley,
plump black figs and lusty rosy pomegranates,
garlicky green olives and thick, thick, brown dates oozing with honey,
large, sensuous and juicy,
so too in this moon
I bring my ripened soul, grown wide and deep,
my lush soul, open, full
from all the places I have traveled,
through slavery and wildness,
filled with love for You,
Who has cared for me so steadfastly.
Now, in this moon, I am ready.
I am finally ready,
longing to draw near You.
I am finally ready
to travel to the wedding canopy,
to unite beneath its folds,
to wed myself to You
from my deepest places.
And as the hollyhocks blossom
and the spicy blooms of thyme scent the air
and thistles in blue flower shower the hillsides
and songs of the turtledoves fill the sky,
I am joined in celebration
by all the creatures, by all the fruits of the earth,
by the opening of all the levels of my soul.
For it is the time of binding. It is the time of union.
So Yedid Nefesh, my heart's delight, Beloved of my soul,
come and dance with me.
Come and dance with me
beneath this Sivan Moon.
Photography Credits:
First photograph: Frank Dobrushken
Second photograph: Leonid Rozenfeld
Third photograph: Alon Kvashny
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